1991 Porsche 964 Turbo

It’s the turn of the 1990s. You’ve lived a life of excess through the 1980s and you’re beginning to wonder, if the Bad Boys really are gonna come for you, what am I gonna do? The simple answer of course is to escape, post haste in your brand-new Porsche 964 Turbo.

First unveiled at the 1990 Geneva Auto Show, the then-latest generation of turbocharged 911 had big tyre tracks to fill. The original 930 Turbo had gained a domineering reputation and had set the benchmark for what Porsche could achieve with its rear-engined platform.

Two core variants of 964 Turbo exist, earlier cars were supplied with a 3. 3-litre turbocharged flat-six, whilst later cars built in 1993 came with a 3. 6-litre unit. This car is an earlier variant, a C16 UK specification, 3. 3-litre 964 Turbo. Supplied new in April of 1991 by Merlin Cambria Porsche Ltd.

The exterior is finished in Porsche’s Midnight Blue Metallic. The Turbo body shell is innately more striking than the base narrow body car. The bodywork is a sea of convex and concave shapes, that whilst aggressive, remain elegant.

The most notable changes over its predecessor, the 930, are seen with new smooth bumpers, bringing what is effectively a 1960s shape into the 1990s.

At the rear, is a nod to the original 930 Turbo, with an enormous “Whale Tail” rear wing. Despite its seemingly comedic size, it does serve an aerodynamic purpose, helping to keep the rear end stable at high speed. A full-width rear reflector panel with the traditional Porsche typography sits above dual-oval exhaust tips.

The bodywork is in extraordinary condition, the aforementioned complex shapes mean that blemishes are hard to hide, and save for a few age-related stone chips there is nothing of note. The wheels are a period-correct upgrade, they are a staggered set of Speedline split rims which were fitted to later 3. 6-litre 964 Turbo models. The centres are finished in silver, with polished barrels and lips, though the outer lips do show some signs of corrosion. For the wheels to present perfectly, they would require a strip down and refurbishment. The wheels are wrapped in a matching set of 2024 date-stamped, Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.

The interior is particularly special — the seats are finished in Linen leather, with contrasting blue pinstriping and perforated accents. The leather is in excellent condition, with very limited and minor signs of wear. The linen leather extends to the centre console, gear lever and handbrake lever which is mounted atop Cobalt Blue carpet. The blue doesn’t stop there, with it extending across the two-tone door cards, the headlining, seatbelts and the dashboard. Mounted into the dash is the iconic 5-gauge cluster, finished with white backings. The odometer shows the car has covered just over 44, 000 miles.

Under the whale tail-adorned decklid lives the heart of the beast. It’s the same basic 3. 3-litre turbo-charged flat-six found in the last of the original 930 Turbos but with a host of improvements to reduce turbo lag and improve drivability. A nice bonus is that power was upped to 316bhp and torque up to 450nm, that power is sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual G50 gearbox.

Despite the few miles that this 964 Turbo has covered over its life, it hasn’t missed out on regular maintenance. The history folder, which is complete with historic MOTs, and even tax discs show the following records:

● 12/ 1991: 718 miles, Merlin Porsche

● 10/ 1993: 2, 834 miles, AFN Porsche

● 06/ 1995: 7, 575 miles, Parkwood Porsche

● 12/ 1996: 12, 452 miles, Merlin Porsche

● 12/ 1997: 17, 070 miles, Merlin Porsche

● 02/ 1999: 21, 222 miles, Merlin Porsche

● 05/ 2001: 26, 185 miles, Porsche Stourbridge

● 12/ 2002: 29, 514 miles, Isaac Agnew Porsche

● 10/ 2004: 37, 462 miles, JZ Machtech

● 05/ 2006: 39, 688 miles, Isaac Agnew Porsche

● 11/ 2007: 41, 120 miles, GT One Porsche Specialists

● 04/ 2009: 43, 249 miles, Diablo Engineering

● 08/ 2024: 44, 089 miles, Kent Porsche Specialists

The car was purchased by its most recent owner in 2007 and was put away in their dry, heated garage at home between 2009-2024. It was regularly started and run up to temperature by its enthusiast owner, who was no longer able to use the car for health reasons.

The car was subjected to a thorough inspection by Kent Porsche Specialists when it came out of its slumber in July 2024 to establish what work was required. Save for a few minor jobs that have been done by Kent Porsche, the car only needed a major service, tyres and an MOT to be put back on the road, testament to the care it had received whilst in storage. The full report from Kent Porsche is available to review by request (please contact us), it mentions a handful of minor items including speed bump damage to some of the plastic under trays but otherwise it gives the car high praise.

In the interest of full disclosure, the car was also inspected by GTR Porsche Specialist to ensure the car's validity, the team at GTR is led by ex-Porsche Cars GB, Tony Littlejohn. It’s said what Tony doesn’t know about 911s, isn’t worth knowing. His report found that the external bodywork is in excellent condition, with the correct panel gaps. Their inspection did however discover some things.

“In our opinion, the bodyshell and its identifying numbers are all factory stamped and have not been altered in any way, and the present chassis build production numbers match. The front of the bodyshell has undergone some repair work, both the front wings and the bonnet have been replaced. The front section of the inner wings have been replaced and the luggage compartment floor has been replaced. Some original stickers and a riveted on plate have not been retained during the repair process.”

When we consigned the car, we noticed that the bonnet was missing its under bonnet stickers and the riveted on VIN plate was not the original (the font on the VIN number on the plate was embossed instead of engraved). The previous repair work was unknown to the current owner, who has owned the car for over 17 years and knew the car for a couple of years prior to their ownership as it had belonged to a friend of theirs. This means that the repair work was carried out at least 20+ years ago to an incredibly high standard. Tony from GTR was very impressed. During the inspection process, Tony removed all the relevant panels from the car to ensure that genuine factory replacement items were used during the repair, which they were, and that all of the VIN marked panels of the car were correct, which again they were. GTR’s full report is also available to view by request, please contact us.

We have subsequently had original-specification under bonnet stickers and a correct VIN plate reproduced and fitted to return the car to as new specification and we welcome any third-party/ independent pre-purchase inspection. The repairs that have been undertaken have been completed to an extremely high standard, and do not detract from the condition of the car. The car has been UK registered from new and is HPI clear and has not been written off or categorised at any stage of its life.

There are many 964s to choose from, but a full-fat turbo is no doubt the way to go. It’s every bit of 911 you could ever need or want. They’re particularly good at chasing down Shelby Cobras, just ask Will Smith.